What is the Google Knowledge Graph?

The Google Knowledge Graph is Google’s database of things (people, places, organisations, products and ideas) and the facts that connect them. Google uses it to understand what a search is about and to show facts directly in results, most visibly in the knowledge panel that appears beside or above the results for well-known entities.

Google launched the Knowledge Graph in 2012 under the line “things, not strings”. The idea was simple: instead of matching the words in a query to the words on a page, understand the real-world thing behind the words. A search for “Mercury” could be about the planet, the element or the singer, and the Knowledge Graph helps Google tell them apart.

For businesses, it matters more each year. AI Overviews and AI Mode lean on Google’s understanding of entities, so a brand Google recognises clearly is easier to describe, cite and recommend than one it has to guess about.

How the Knowledge Graph works

The Knowledge Graph stores entities and the connections between them. An entity is any distinct thing with an identity. Each one has attributes (a founding date, a headquarters, a website) and links to other entities (a founder, a parent company, a product).

In 2020, Google said the Knowledge Graph held over 500 billion facts about 5 billion entities. It builds that from many sources: licensed data, public databases such as Wikidata, Wikipedia, structured data on websites, Google Business Profiles and information people submit through knowledge panel feedback.

When you search, Google matches your query to the entities it knows, then uses those entities and their connections to choose results and features. That’s why a search for a company name can bring up its logo, social profiles, address and reviews without you clicking anything. In regulated sectors this matters even more, which is why it sits at the centre of our fintech SEO work.

Knowledge Graph vs knowledge panel

People often use the two terms as if they mean the same thing. They don’t.

Local businesses usually see a Business Profile panel instead, which comes from their Google Business Profile. That’s a separate product, but it feeds the same understanding of who the business is and where it operates.

Why the Knowledge Graph matters for SEO

Being a recognised entity helps in a few practical ways:

• Brand searches look stronger. A knowledge panel with your logo, description and links makes the results page for your name more trustworthy.
• Google can connect your content to your brand. When it knows your organisation, your authors and your topics, it’s easier for Google to credit your pages with expertise on those topics.
• AI answers get your details right. AI Overviews and other AI search tools draw on entity data. If Google’s picture of your business is clear and consistent, AI answers are more likely to describe you accurately.

This is the basis of entity-based SEO: building content and signals around the things you want Google to associate with you, not just the keywords.

How a business gets into the Knowledge Graph

There’s no form to apply. Google adds an entity when it finds enough consistent, trustworthy information to be confident the entity exists and to know what it is. You can make that much more likely.

1. Make your About page the source of truth. State your legal name, what you do, where you’re based, when you started and who runs the business. Keep it factual.
2. Add Organization schema. Mark up your homepage or About page with Organization (or LocalBusiness) structured data, including your name, logo, URL and a sameAs list of your official profiles. Our guide to schema markup explains how.
3. Keep your details consistent everywhere. Use the same name, address and description on your website, Google Business Profile, LinkedIn, Companies House listing, industry directories and social profiles.
4. Get mentioned by credible third parties. Coverage in trade press, news sites and respected industry bodies gives Google independent confirmation of who you are.
5. Consider Wikidata, carefully. A Wikidata item can help, but only if your business meets its notability rules and the entry is backed by reliable sources. Entries that don’t meet the rules tend to get deleted.
6. Build author entities too. Give key people author pages with bios, credentials and links to their professional profiles, and mark them up with Person schema.

It takes time. Small businesses often get a Business Profile panel long before a full knowledge panel, and that’s normal.

How to claim and update a knowledge panel

If a knowledge panel already shows for your brand or name, you can claim it. Search for the entity on Google, find the option to claim the panel and verify through one of your official profiles, such as your website’s Search Console account or a social media account Google lists. Once verified, you can suggest changes to facts and images. Google reviews the suggestions and doesn’t promise to accept them, so back each change with a public source.

To check whether Google already sees your business as an entity, you can query Google’s Knowledge Graph Search API, which returns any matching entity and its ID. A result is a good sign. No result means there’s more work to do on the steps above.

If you want Google and AI search tools to understand your brand clearly, our AI SEO agency builds entity work into every project. Book a free strategy session to talk it through.

Related reading: our guides to SERP features and E-E-A-T.

Common questions